Education in Costa Rica
Education in Costa Rica
Literacy Costa Rica
The Constitution of Costa Rica protects preschool and primary level education through grade 11 as free and mandatory. Children are required to enter preschool by age 4!! Then follow with primary school (grades 1-6) They have one of the highest literacy rates in Latin America with 95%.
With a strong emphasis on teaching kids early to get them the best head start in life, children as young as 2 months can be enrolled in pre-primary education! What a great way to raise kids, and parents who are working have a free daycare based in early childhood education and socialized play with others! Children from age 3-5 attend preschool for 2 years then have a one year “ciclo de transicion” aka kindergarten before beginning primary school. The standards for educational curriculum is set by the Ministerio de Education.
Types of School In Costa Rica
There are a variety of types of schools available depending on the child/families language knowledge and residency. They include: public, private and international schools.
Costa Rica School Calendar
Since Costa Rica abolished their military in 1948 part of the money has been used by the government to fund the public education system which is why it is of such high quality. The public school year is split up into two semesters with a month long break between end of June-end of July. It begins in February and runs until Nov/Dec. Private school calendars are similar with maybe getting off 1-2 weeks earlier than public school.
Uniforms
Children all wear uniforms in public schools level the disparities between class levels.
Another difference between the types of school is often the amount and type of extracurricular activities. Are you wondering what the popular extracurriculars are? Soccer (of course), dance, horseback riding, wall climbing…
Private schools will offer curriculum taught in English, classes will be smaller generally than the public schools and children are in school all day. Their curriculum follows what is set up by the ministry for public schools, whereas international schools can base their curriculum off other countries. ***
International Schools:
Some international schools prepare kids to attend university in Europe by offering modeling their Baccalaureate system. The International Baccalaureate (IB) is becoming more popular worldwide. It is something to consider when deciding where to send your child. The international schools attract families from all over the world which enriches the child’s education of many cultures and friends with different customs, family structures, ideas etc. The schools offer incentive lower cost tuition or scholarships for local families to be able to afford the schooling as well.
Cost of Private School
And of course another deciding factor is cost of attendance! Average cost for private preschool is between $200-800/mo!
At public schools children after a certain grade must be proficient in Spanish since all the lessons will be taught primarily in Spanish. Children are only qualified to attend the free public schools in costa rica if they are residents. The final thing that is needed to attend are transcripts from their previous school.